Machine shuttle



(No Model) I 1 0. L. SMITH.

SEWING MACHINE SHUTTLE. No. 276,489. Patentgd Apnz l, 1883.

N. PEIEHS. PhchvLii-MB MM. Wznhingion. a Q

UNITED STATES PATENT" OFFICE.

OSCAR L. SMITH, OF BUFFALO,NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR OF JOHN A. BELL, OF SAME PLACE.

ONE-lHALF TO SEWING-MACHINE SHUTTLE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 276,489, dated April 24, 1883.

I Application filed December 2, 1882. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, OSCAR L. SMITH, of the city of Buffalo, in the county of Erie and State of New York, have invented new and useful easily threaded, and the tension to be nicely regulated.

My invention consists to that end of the particular improvements in the construction of the shuttle which will be hereinafter fully described, and pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of my improved shuttle on an enlarged scale. Fig. 2 is a top plan view, with the lid opened. Fig. 3 a longitudinal vertical section. Figs. 4, 5, and 6 are crossseetions in lines as w, y y, and a 2, Fig. 3, respectively. Fig. '7 is a perspective view of the spring which is applied to the lid. Fig. 8 is a perspective view of the tension spring. Fig. 9 is a view of the rear end,of the shuttle. Fig. 10 is a view of the adjusting-screw.

Like letters of reference refer to like parts in the several figures.

A represents the cylindrical body of the shuttle, provided with a pointed front end, A, and :affljat rear end, A.

1) represents an oblong opening formed in the upper part of the cylindrical body A, and extending from the rear end thereof forwardly over about one-halfof the length of the shuttle.

B represents a lid, which is constructed to close the oblong opening I), and which is curved so as 'to complete the cylindrical body of the shuttle when closed. The lid B is provided at its rear end with two lugs, c c, which are attached to the rear wall of the body of the shuttle by means of a pivot, c, on which the lid turns in opening and closing. The lugs e are provided on their front sides with projections 0 against which bear the arms (1 of a two-part or horseshoe spring, D, which is secured to the inner side of the rear wall of the body of the shuttle by a screw, 1, and by a downward extension, (1 which engages in a slot, d formed in the bottom of the shuttle. I

The spring D, as will be observed, is arranged vertically against the inside of the rear wall of the body, as before explained, and consequently takes up no more room than is necessary to accommodate the thickness of the metal of which. the spring is composed, the flat arms of saidspring straddling the bobbin. The pressure of the spring D tends to hold the lid Bin aclosed position, asrepresented in Figs. 1 and 3.

erepresents a projection or lip, which ex tends rearwardly from the front edge of the opening b in the body of the shuttle, and engages in a correspondingly-shaped notch, e,

formed in the front edge of the lid B, thereby preventing lateral play of the front portion of the lid B and guiding the needle-thread over the joint between the front edge of the lid and the front edge of the opening I).

F represents the tension-spring, which is arranged lengthwise in the cavity of the shuttle,

in close proximity to one side of the cylindrical wall of the shuttle.

frepresents the tension-hook formed on the upper side of the spring F, so as to overlap the notch f through which the thread passes. The hook fprojects above thelower horizontal edge of tl e opening b, as clearly shown in Figs. 1, 3,-au'd 5. The spring F is secured to the body of the s'hiittle at its rear end by a rivet, f and is made adjustable at its front end, so that the pressure of the spring against the thread can be nicely regulated. Thefrontend of the spring F is provided with a notch or recess, g, which divides the frontend. of the spring into two arms, 9.

h represents the adjusting-screw, which is provided with a neck, It, of reduced diameter, which engages between the arms g of the front end of the spring F, while the enlarged por-' tions of the screw it, on opposite sides of the neck 71/, engage respectively against the inner and outer sides of the front end of the spring, so that by turning the screw in one or the otherdirection the front end of the spring is adjusted outwardly or inwardly, as may he neoessary to produce the desired tension. spring is curved, as shown in Fig. 5, convex on its outer side and concave on its inner side, to conform to the curvature of the cylindrical wall of the shuttle, except at its front end, where it is made straight.

'i represents the thread-slotin the side of the body of the shuttle adjacent to the spring F, and near the front end of the opening b,which is covered by the lid B. The thread-slotihas the form of an-inverted letter T, the lateral branches of the slot being preferably slightly inclined upwardly, as shown, in order to more securely hold the thread. The upper end of the central portion of the thread-slot is closed by the lower edge of the front portion of the lid B. The bobbin is placed loosely into the cylindrical cavity of the shuttle, and is confined at its front end by that portion of the cylindrical wall of the shuttle which overlaps the cavity thereof, as clearly represented in Fig. 2, in which the bobbin is indicated by dotted lines. The rear end of the bobbin is confined by the lid B.

In order to thread the shuttle, the thread is simply drawn into the slotf, 'under the projecting hookf, and along the lower edge of the lid B into the thread-slot t. The portion of the thread which lies between the slotf in the tension-sprin g and the thread-slott' is clam ped between the tension-spring and the wall of the shuttle, and the tension exerted by the spring upon the thread is readily regulated, as hereinbet'ore described.

The lid B is preferably constructed on one of its horizontal edges with a depressed portion, 7', which forms a slot, in which the thumbnailcan be inserted for opening the shuttle, and it is also provided with a depression, Ir, which accommodates the projecting hook f of the tension-spring F.

My improved shuttle is very simple in construction, and the operations of introducing the bobbin and threading the shuttle can be accomplished quickly and with very little effort.

I claim as my invention- 1. A cylindrical shuttle provided with an The elongated opening, I), alid, B, having the form of acylinder-segment, and hinged to the end of the shuttle, and a projecting lip, a, and notch, 0, formed respectively in the shuttlebody and the lid, whereby the front end of the lid is held against lateral movement, substantially as set forth.

2. The combinatiomwith a cylindrical shuttle provided with an elongated opening, b, of a lid, B, hinged to the rear end of the shuttle by two lugs, 0, and a two-armed spring, D, arranged in a vertical position against the inside of the rear wall of the body of the cylinder, substantially as and for the purposes specified.

3. The combination, with a cylindrical shuttle provided with an elongated opening, I), and a notch, d of a lid, B, provided with lugs c,

and a horseshoe-spring, D, provided with a downward extension, 6?, substantially as set forth.

- 4. The combination,with a cylindrical shuttle, provided with an elongated opening, I), of a hinged lid, B, a tension-spring, F, provided with a projecting hook,f, and a thread-notch, t', formed in the wall of the shuttle adjacent to the tension-spring, substantially as set forth.

5. The combination,with a cylindrical shuttle, of a tension-spring, F, provided with a projecting hook,f, a thread-notch, t, formed in the wall of the shuttle adjacent to the tensionspring, a notch, {1, formed in the front end of the spring, and an adjusting-screw, It, provided with a reduced portion, h, which engages in the notch at the front end of thetensionspring, substantially as set forth.

6. The combination, with a cylindrical shuttle having an elongated opening, I), and a thread-notch, t, of a tension-spring provided with a. projecting hook,f, and a hinged lid, B, having the form of a cylinder-segment, and provided with a depressiomk,accommodating the projecting hookf and a thumb-nail slot,j, substantially as set forth. 4

O. L. SMITH.

Witnesses JOHN J. BONNER, OHAs. F. G YER; 

